How about a Little RP?

Ishida glared briefly at Atria.

*We are clearly not having fun.* he thought.

*No way, is it the end?* this thought was in Agates mind, when she heard a telepathic voice from Ishida:

*Calm down, I have a plan. Just slow down a bit in your flight and take a turn at that net of vines. I take care of the ones at your legs.*

*I trust in you*

Ishida reached to his back and took out his katana from its sheath. He grabbed its hilt with a backwards grip and jumped from the branch directly to the trunk. He turned in mid-air he his feet were making contanct with the trunk, and then he propelled himself away, directly towards the vines threatening Agate. He turned the grip of his sword from backwards to forwards and slashed at vines, cutting them with amazing dexterity. Above him, Agate slowed down a bit flew downwards towards her partner, as Ishida managed to land on a neighbouring thick branch, almost slipping, but regaining his balance.

At this point, Tyler had been able to find the location this was happening in. He decided to wait in the treeline to see what the intentions were of the imposing Deertaur, who looked pretty attractive, and the group of travelers caught in her vines currently. Since he had no ranged weapons or magic, it's not like he could have helped the travelers anyway.

"Impressive. You're more agile than I thought you'd be. You wait there."

Atria sat down for a moment, putting a hand on her head. She was thinking. After only a moment, she turned her attention back to the pair.

Now, she had a plan.

Grabbing at them with her own hands and the vines under her control, Atria chased the adventurers in a specific direction, as if herding them.

She was clearly up to something, but going in any direction other than the one she allowed would land the pair in a web of vines far to thick to cut through in any reasonable fashion. Though, it could be worth the risk if done in an unreasonable fashion, though it would be dangerous.

She was concentrating so hard on directing the adventurers, she didn't even notice the third trespasser for now. Though, he would have to risk a closer look to keep an eye on the situation.

*This is crazy* Agate remarked. *She is obviously trying to trap us somewhere.*

*A magic that allows the user to control plant life is really something.* Ishida replied.

*Its not the time for getting impressed Ishida! The deerataur is gonna catch us if it continued at this rate.*

*Then it is time to do something stupid.* Ishida grinned and grabbed a vine, now swinging towards Atria.

*Hey,wait for me!* the half-fairy flew after him. She quickly realised Ishidas plan: a predator usually does not predict the prey going directly towards it.

Technically, Ishida was right. Atria hadn't expected her prey to come directly at her. Though, it only made things easier for her.

As Ishida grabbed the vine, it grabbed him in return, coiling tightly around his wrist. As he swung toward Atria, she extended her arms to greet him. She held herself so that Ishida could not go right or left without running into her arms, and traveling straight forward would cause him to crash straight into her body. He couldn't switch vines without making his intentions obvious, as he'd have to cut the vine holding him first.

As Ishida came closer, the deerataur laughed. "Good plan. It might've worked on a wild animal. But you're dealing with something far smarter."

Atria remained in her stance, prepared for any movement Ishida could make. As far as she could tell, his only remaining choices were to crash into her hands, or her chest. Both were in her favor, though she hoped he would choose the former.

The only remaining problem was Agate, due to the extra freedom flight gave her. Ishida's movement was tied to momentum and the vine he was swinging on: his position could be calculated. Agate could move in any direction at any time. Atria did not like that.

Atria did not knew an another thing about Agate: she had dispelling magic. She used it on Ishidas vine, which allowed the human to release it and use the momentum for a jump to the right side, doing several front flips in mid-air. Agate herself threw two sphere of light at Atria as a diversion as flew to left. Just like always: they used teamwork to try and get away from predators.

Atria was quite surprised by Agate's little trick.

And extremely annoyed.

She quickly turned to the left, causing her deer half to swing to the right. She hoped it would hit Ishida.

Ishida was brushed against the deerataurs fur and was sent flying directly into the greenery covering the ground.

*Ouch!* he scratched his butt which he landed on. Luckily the plants covering the ground cushioned his fall. He unsheathed his katana again and crouched down, covering himself with his green cape as a camouflage.

Agate flew out of the way of Atrias hand while searching for Ishida.

Atria felt Ishida's impact against her side and turned around again to look for him. She had to find him before Agate could.

Seeing nothing but green, she relied on her magic to find the adventurer rather than her eyes. She focused for a moment, then commanded the underbrush to sway and move erratically, with no particular rhythm. This made Ishida's unmoving cape stand out amongst the plants.

Reaching as quickly as she could, so fast she almost appeared to be falling, Atria covered the adventurer with one hand, still swatting at Agate with the other. When she felt the warmth of her target under her hand, she smiled widely. Curling her fingers under Ishida, she had caught one trespasser.

She held him tightly, but did not give any signs that she was going to eat him. She had questions first.

But before she could start asking, she had one more to catch. Now, she could focus all of her attention on Agate.

*Thats why I hate that kind of magic.* Ishida thought as he was held

*Release Ishida at once!* Agate called out to Atria as she was fluttering around her, but Ishida yelled back:

*Agate, stop! At first I would like to hear what the deerataur want.* the boy calmed down and looked at Atria: *You can tell what you want, but please, let my partner alone.*

Agate facepalmed as she was looking out for Atrias incoming hands. One of Ishidas quirks just surfaced: his easygoingness.

Atria looked down at the man in her hand. "What I want? You must misunderstand. I'm just doing my job. The forest wants you two out, and its my job to see that happen. Though, I do have half a mind to eat you just for the annoyance you've caused."

As if on cue, her stomach growled. She poked at it with her free hand, saying, "Oh, shush, you. We may not need to go that far."

"So, now it's my turn. What do you want, and why are you in my forest?"

Ishida heard Atrias stomach growling and sweatdropped, but regained his straight face.

*We are just normal adventurers who are discovering the wonders of Felarya.* Ishida said. *Personally, I like to take strolls in the nature, and the same remained after I was left stranded in Felarya. I am a human, so curiosity is in my nature. I want to know more about this world, so I can survive. Felaryan nature is fascinating to me, despite knowing that almost everything wants to eat me.*

*Nothing signed that it is your forest.* Agate added coldly, folding her arms while fluttering in mid-air. *And the annoyance we caused? We are just trying to survive like everybody else. Ishida is my partner, so we protect each other and that is natural.*

Atria raised an eyebrow. "Just adventuring for the sake of adventuring, huh?"

Then she smiled widely. "I like your style, human. I've never seen the world outside this forest. I am tethered to this place in order to protect it. So long as you pose no threat to the forest or its inhabitants, then I am allowed to let you go. The question is whether or not I feel like it."

The deerataur sat down for a moment, tapping her chin as if in deep thought. "Do I feel like it, though? Hmm... Maybe I'll hang onto you for a while, until I decide what to do."

She laughed a little. "Lucky you, getting to spend more time with me."

Atria plucked a vine from a nearby tree and tied it around Ishida. Then, looping it around her neck, made a sort of necklace out of it, with the adventurer hanging from the front. "You just stay there. Now I have my hands free, and I can be sure that no little winged thief is going to steal you from me." As she said this, she turned to Agate and stuck out her tongue.

It was at this point that the forest whispered again. Another trespasser nearby. Atria looked down at Ishida. "Well, I've got work to do. Let's move. Oh! But first, I can't leave the forest wounded like that."

Atria channeled her magic, causing the vine she tore to grow back. "There we go, all better. Now, shall we be going?"

*Well, yes.* Ishida replied, feeling a little awkward about his situation. *And Agate is my best friend, actually. She was the one who found me and took me in after I found myself in Felarya. By the way, my name is Ishida, Ishida Yamamoto.*

*Agate Sycamore* Agate said, with a little annoyance in her voice.

"I am Atria, the Violet Shaman. Though, most people just call me Atria."

She thought for a moment. "Actually, that's not true. My friends call me Atria. Most people call me 'AH IT'S A DEERATAUR RUN FOR YOUR LIVES IT WANTS TO EAT US'. I'm not a fan of that one, though."

With that, she prepared to return to her work. Scanning the environment for anything suspicious, she began to search for the third intruder.

*Nice to meet you, Atria.* Ishida said and then remained silent, not wanting to disturb her while shes scanning the environment.

*Well, Im not sure this meeting wasnice, but anyways we have to get with the flow.* Agate sighed.

Atria remained in an almost trance-like state, her voice hollow, though she did manage to reply.

"Sure, we got off on the wrong hoof- er, foot, rather- but it's nice to meet you, as well. Don't get too friendly, though. You wouldn't want to rob me of my lunch, would you?"

She would have chuckled at her own joke, if she wasn't concentrating so hard.

*Well, right.* Joey understood the joke and managed a small giggle. Agate on the other hand, just rolled her eyes.

((Hey you two, I wanted to let you know I'll be out for a week on a family vacation, but i'll be back after that! Sorry about all this, but glad you both are having fun! Ill jump in a few days after I get back!))

((Kay. Have fun on your vacation, dragon.))

From her current location, Atria could find no traces of the third intruder. She decided it would be best to reposition.

She began to walk forward, with no real destination in mind. She needed a better vantage point. She motioned for Agate to follow her.

Looking around, she deliberated over where she might get the best view.

"I need to get a better view of this place. Let me know if you see any particularly large trees." She chuckled a bit, but she was mostly serious. She would certainly climb a tree if it was big enough, though it would likely be difficult.

She turned her head to face Agate. "You know, if we're going to be stuck together for a while, we might as well talk. Like it or not, we're going to be hanging out, at least until I decide what to do with you two."

"Besides," she added, "I don't hear Ishida complaining. I wonder why." She gestured to the man hanging from her necklace.

(I wish a happy vacation for you, dragon)

*I am fine with this unless you want to eat me.* Ishida said. *This is the part of the adventure.*

*Ishida is pretty calm and collected in most situations.* Agate explained. *He knows that paniching only makes thinks worse.*

"Impressive. Most of the people I catch are either terribly frightened or strangely allured. A few of the more brash men have paid great compliments to my 'necklace rides'. While I appreciate the kind words, I don't quite understand what's so special."

With that, Atria dropped the subject.

"In any case, I have been told by quite a few survivors that remaining calm is the single most important skill they have. I suppose it must be true. Thought, to be honest, I could never possibly understand. At my size, there aren't many things above me on the food chain."

At that moment, Atria seemed to recall something.

"By the way, you two are from Tolmeshal, right? How are things over there?"

*Well, its the normal.* Ishida said. *Me and Agate are regularly roaming the jungle, searching for food while avoiding the predators. And when we are bored, we are searching a great adventure.*

*Sometimes, the adventure will find us.* Agate added. *Like when we visited the Fairy Pond, and later Nekomura.*

*Yes, when we were searching for your father and later went to Ishizus birthday.*

*And got some new friends as well.*

Atria's eyes sparkled for a moment. "You certainly seem well-traveled. I wish I could say the same. Alas, I am bound to this place, to serve as its guardian. Though, it is a fair trade. In exchange for my service, I am permitted to do what I will with those that I find. If the forest had its will done entirely, you two would have no chance of being set free."

Atria paused for a minute, choosing her words carefully.

"That's not to say I've decided that I'm going to let you go. I'm just saying that it could happen. We'll see how fun you are to have around."

*Well, it is your duty.* said Ishida. *By the way it seems it will our adventure to spend the day with you, Atria. At least we can learn more about the nature of Misty Glade.*

*Here we go again, your grand optimism.* Agate responded and did a chuckle. *I now doesnt wonder how you get to be friends with a fairy, a mermaid and a neko.*